Yellow Daffodils
by Kittyclaw
Summary: Oneshot. “Do I get a key?” he asked. Aelita raised an eyebrow at him. “I don’t know,” Aelita said playfully, drawing out the words. “What if you throw a huge party and wreck the place?” “I promise to clean up after myself."


**I asked Rena what I should do tonight. She told me to write her some fluff. So, she gets some friendship fluff. I had the idea going, and figured it was the perfect one for her (what with the title and all). So, here you go Rena. Also, this is my entry for the dictionary challenge on Xana's Lair. You guys should all check it out. Links on my profile!**

* * *

Aelita rested her chin in her hand, tilting her head slightly as she stared at the pair of flowers sitting in the tiny glass vase on the table where she and Odd were currently enjoying a quick lunch. It was an unusual flower, not like the ones Aelita was used to seeing in the flower gardens some of the tenants who lived in her apartment building kept.

The shape of petals reminded her of a star fruit cut in half, with a bell shaped part surrounding its center. The entire flower, both petals and bell, was a brilliant yellow. Slowly, Aelita reached forward and ran a finger along the edge of one of the flower's petals.

"Aelita?"

Odd's voice cut into Aelita's thoughts, startling her from her examination of the delicate flowers.

"Yes?" she asked, turning her attention back to Odd, tucking her hands into her lap as she did. The blonde was watching her, an eyebrow raised in amusement as his gaze drifted to the flowers and then back.

"You like daffodils?" he asked curiously.

"I like…what?" Aelita asked back. Odd smiled.

"Daffodils," he repeated. "That's what kind of flowers these are," he added, pointing to the yellow blossoms.

"Oh," Aelita breathed. "I didn't know that." Odd grinned.

"And now you do. But, uh, about your apartment?" he asked. Aelita blinked, before remembering the original purpose of her lunch with Odd. In two days she would be leaving to DJ at a club in Paris for a few nights, and she was in desperate need of someone to look after her place until she got back.

"Right," she said. "The apartment. It's fairly basic really. You just have to get the mail and put it on the counter, and water the plant by the door. You should only have to stop by once a day."

"Alright," Odd said, writing himself down a reminder on a napkin, which he stuffed into his pocket. "Do I get a key?" he asked. Aelita raised an eyebrow at him.

"I don't know," Aelita said playfully, drawing out the words. "What if you throw a huge party and wreck the place?"

"I promise to clean up after myself," Odd told her, completely sincere. Aelita gave him a flat look, which lasted all of two seconds before the pair burst out laughing.

"Of course you get a key," she said, pulling the spare from her pocket and handing it across the table to Odd. "I gave you the copy of my schedule, so you know when I'll be available for calls incase anything goes wrong." Odd nodded. "Do you need anything else?" she asked.

"I think I'm good," Odd said, stuffing the key into the pocket with the napkin. "Make sure you call me when you get into Paris and all that," he reminded her. Aelita smiled.

"I won't forget to call if you don't forget to collect my mail." Odd grinned, holding out a hand to shake.

"Deal."

* * *

"Hmm," Odd hummed, glancing up briefly to shove Aelita's key into the lock and let himself into her apartment before resuming his browse through her mail. As of yet he hadn't stumbled across anything either worrying or shocking. No overdue bills, no scandalous subscriptions. With a sigh at a once again unfruitful search, Odd tossed the small stack of envelopes down onto the pile currently coating Aelita's kitchen counter.

"Aelita gets home tomorrow," Odd said, directing his comment to the small potted fern sitting on the table by Aelita's front door. "Are you going to be happy to see her?"

The fern's response was a light shudder as Odd picked it up, carrying it over to the sink.

"Yeah, me too," Odd told the plant. Carrying it into the kitchen, he stuck the pot under the tap and ran the water. "I'm sure she'll be glad to see that I didn't try and kill you off. Not like Ulrich."

The fern shuttered again, as if unhappy with the thought of reliving Ulrich's house sitting adventure, in which he forgot completely the poor little plant's existence. A fact which never failed to come up in conversation, much to the brunet's displeasure.

"There you go," Odd said, taking the freshly watered plant back to its table. "All good." With another sigh, Odd took one last look around the apartment before heading towards the door. Though, he hesitated before he made it out into the hall.

"You know, I should do something nice for her," Odd told the fern, "you know, to welcome her home? But I won't be up that late," he added, thinking about Aelita's midnight arrival tomorrow night. So, what could he do for the girl that wouldn't involve actually being in her home when she got back in? The place was immaculate, so it wasn't like he could surprise her by cleaning it up. So, what then?

The idea came to Odd as he stared at the little green fern, the only plant life adorning Aelita neat little apartment. A grin slowly spreading across his face, Odd checked that he had Aelita's spare key and hurried out of the apartment, tossing a quick 'thanks' over his shoulder at the fern as he went.

* * *

With a heavily heaved sigh, Aelita shut her front door, dropping her duffle bag to the ground at her feet, where she kicked off her shoes and slumped into her home, blinking tiredly as she took in the state of her apartment. She was pleased to note that it appeared to not have been partied in.

"Oh, good," she muttered as she check on her little plant, which was still, thankfully, green and alive. Feeling a little better, she headed for the kitchen, and the mountain of mail awaiting her. It was stacked neatly, her spare key sitting atop the stack. Aelita rolled her eyes.

"You're such a dork Odd," she muttered, by passing the pile as she decided to leave it for the morning. It was as she was passing by the kitchen, heading for her bedroom, that she noticed the single out of place thing in her apartment.

Sitting on her table, in a large glass vase, were two dozen bright yellow daffodils.

Aelita's eyes went wide for a moment before her gaze softened, a small, happy smile pulling up the corners of her lips as she stepped forward to smell the flowers. Her eyebrows rose slightly as she noticed a small card in the bouquet. Reaching in, she extracted it from the tangle of blossoms and leaves.

It was just a little bit of cardstock, cut, oddly enough, in the shape of a little dinosaur. Across it were scribbled words "Welcome Home Aelita".

"Thanks, Odd," Aelita whispered, fingers curling around the card as she turned away from the table and continued on towards her bedroom.


End file.
